Further Education

Luck had it that our first expatriation landed us in Gabon, a French speaking country, and I had some French education behind me.  Even so, when we arrived, it had been years since I'd spoken a word of French and several more years since I had to use much other than simple conjugation, ABC's, 123's and classroom vocabulary.  For the first several months, I cowered behind my language skills scared to make mistakes, stumbling over words that had long buried themselves in the depths of my brain and fearful that if I did respond and pass off my French, I'd be rewarded with a flurry of words that I couldn't keep up with.  Yet, when you move to a country where 99% of the population does not speak English, it becomes a sink or swim scenario.

Eventually, things started to connect again in my mind and soon I was spending much less time pre-formulating sentences well ahead of any communication.  I credit a lot of my confidence to speaking with our guards and our housekeeper - they were consistent relationships who were patient and understanding as I tried to piece together what I needed.  They didn't correct me or walk away when I wasn't making sense; they worked with me until we were both in complete understanding.

While this was happening, I could feel my grammar slipping away.  No longer was I worried about saying something perfectly, I just wanted to be understood and generally, I was.  I knew I was making a plethora of mistakes and I felt frustrated that while my oral communication had improved tenfold, I wasn't improving on the details of the language.  With French teachers few and far between, I continued to bump along, conversing haphazardly yet fairly confidently.

Of course, the move to Stavanger brought my French language use to a halt.  I had aspirations of meeting a couple of French expat wives who I could meet for coffee once a week but it didn't happen.  A year passed and aside from a couple of jaunts to French speaking countries, I did not utter a word of French.  Some days, I'd translate my day in head to see if I could still do it or I'd turn the TV to France 24 but would quickly lose interest.  Come June, I stumbled across a French language teacher in Stavanger and before I could talk myself out of it, I composed my best email in French detailing that I'd like lessons in the Fall.

Since the end of August, I've met with a lovely French woman once per week for 1.5 hours at her home.  During my first lesson we completed a placement test where my teacher remarked that my oral communication was strong but my written was lacking.  I found this interesting as my entire French education, I felt the reverse, a fairly common notion for anyone who has learned a language in a classroom with more pen to paper than anything else.

From "Bonjour" to "À la semaine prochaine" we do not speak a word of English.  It is exhausting.  One on one, we work through grammar and vocabulary; we'll do fun things like make crêpes and play games or we'll watch adverts on youtube.  Sometimes the words flow easily and the lessons are quickly grasped whereas others are more of a struggle as I try to wrap my head around le girondif and curse the masculine/feminine forms.  I've come home laughing that my teacher had reprimanded me for not answering in full sentences which unexpectedly sounded as if I'd been listening to myself several years prior with my FSL students in Canada.  The tables had turned and now I found myself une étudiante once more.

It's been good.  It's been good to flex my brain a little more.  It's been good to polish up my language skills and it's been good to feel the slightest bit more productive.


{On that note, tonight is Joe's first Norwegian lesson.  His company finally got around to arranging lessons at the office.  We asked if I could also attend but unfortunately, they wouldn't allow it so I've instructed Joe to pay extra special attention so that he could teach me afterwards.}

The Story Behind My Second Language

Awhile ago, I was approached by Kaplan International Colleges about participating in their Inspire Language Learning Blog Challenge and this being a topic close to my heart, I decided this was a topic I'd love to cover on my blog.

I'd love to say that I had some sort of master plan when it came to learning a second language, but alas, I was not quite so organized.  You see, in Canada, it's mandatory for every student to receive some French language education being that it is one of our official languages.  I, like many grade 4 children, looked forward to this class in hopes of being able to speak a secret language that neither of my parents would understand.  Little did I know, it would take a lot more work and time than a lesson per week and that those secret conversations weren't going to exist until I was well out of my parent's house.

While it's mandatory to take a few years of French as a Second Language, students have the option of dropping the class as they get older and my classmates began dropping like flies but I decided to stick with it.  The progress was slow but I liked the class and I hoped that at some point, I might become fluent enough to hold a conversation.  It made sense to take French as my language requirement in University and when that went well, I enrolled for second year classes and then I had 12 out of 18 credits needed for a minor.  Again, it was logical to continue.

I didn't see the full benefits of my perseverance until after I completed my degree in Education.  As my fellow graduates were scrambling over a handful of jobs, my French minor landed me my first teaching job.  It was now my place to inspire school kids in Western Canada, where French is not widely spoken, to keep learning.  I listed all of those benefits in the info-graphic above (minus the 'sexy' stuff) but it was hard to get them to buy in at such a young age.  I knew that my second language had done me well and I hoped it would for my students too.

When my husband was offered a global position within his company, I had no idea just how thankful I'd be to have French as a second language.  A move to Gabon on the West coast of Africa transplanted us in a French speaking country where finding anyone who spoke English was a challenge in itself.  I listened to my husband remark that perhaps he shouldn't have dropped out of French the second he was permitted and I smugly grinned that my perseverance would pay off yet again.

While we've since departed Gabon and my French language skills aren't put to daily use, they continue to surprise me.  Recently, we found ourselves in a bit of a predicament in Brussels, Belgium when our car was locked in a parkade on a quiet Sunday morning and we had a F1 race to catch.  The security guard didn't speak English and the 3 gentlemen I was with did not speak French.  It was my stellar French skills that communicated our problem and ended up releasing our car from it's unintended imprisonment.

My second language has gained me numerous benefits when it comes to travel & career (and I'd like to think brain power too) that it's hard to argue which may be better than the other.  What I have learned is that it's difficult to plan ahead and it's impossible to know exactly where life is going to take us but I will guarantee that learning a second language will never hamper you and perhaps you'll be like me, it'll come in handy when you least expect it.

What's your language story?  

Paris

Paris.

How can you not love Paris?

We left Spain for France to spend the last 4 days of our holiday in Paris.  This was my second time visiting the city and Joe's first and it sort of felt a bit like coming home.  After 2 weeks in Spain with my knowledge of Spanish limited to cerveza, por favor, sangria and gracias, it felt so nice to be somewhere I could understand people again!  

(Funny enough, while in Spain, anytime someone said anything to me in Spanish I responded in French.  Even simple phrases like "merci" or "où sont les toilettes?"  It was really embarrassing and I tried consciously to stop it but it was like it was innate.  Anyways, I digress.)

We didn't plan a lot for Paris - I knew Joe would want to see the main sites and I was fine to revisit them.  Mostly, I wanted to sit in cafés, browse the shops, eat nice food and enjoy our last weekend in Europe.

We sat on the grass and people watched in the Luxembourg Gardens.

We walked the Champs Élysées right up to l'Arc de Triomphe and back again.

I ate a delicious croque monsieur and drank as many lattes as I could.

We strolled around le tour Eiffel both during the day and at night.

We stopped by the Louvre (although it was cut short by me losing my ticket...whoops.)

We admired Notre Dame but didn't catch a glimpse of the Hunchback.

But mostly, we just enjoyed each other's company and our last few days in Europe before boarding the plan back to Gabon.

Tips


-We decided to splurge a bit on our hotel in Paris as it was our last stop before returning to Gabon and decided on Hotel des Academies et des Arts in Montparnasse.  We chose it because it was a small boutique hotel and away from the majority of the tourists.  While the rooms were quite small (and we had an upgraded one,) they were decorated well and the space was used efficiently.  We liked the personal attention and we really enjoyed the Montparnasse area.

-For our fellow Canadians, friends of ours had told us about a Canadian Bar called "The Moose" and we decided to seek it out for a taste of home.  I had heard they had caesars and with it being just about a year since we've been home, I was dying for one.  Unfortunately they were out of Clamato but they did have several varieties of poutine which filled the void just fine.

-We went for Indian food one night and landed at Le Palais de Raja Maharaja.  The food was great and the service very friendly.  When our bill took a long time to arrive, the owner dropped off an unopened bottle of vodka from the freezer and 2 glasses as an apology.  While I don't typically drink vodka straight, we did have a laugh and a drink and we appreciated the gesture.

-One of the things I hadn't done while in the Paris area was visit Versailles and I was so looking forward to it.  Unfortunately, when I went to book tickets online, they were all sold out on the day we had available.  Again, it pays to plan ahead if you can.

-Paris is crazy with tourists - it is the number one tourist destination in the world.  Long lines are found at the majority of the main sites and you can end up wasting hours waiting.  Always look if you can purchase ahead of time online or at another location.  (For example, we bought our tickets to the Louvre at Fnac and saved ourselves a lot of time.)

Bon/Bonne

The French have a lot of little sayings using 'bon' or 'bonne,' both of which mean good.

Bon arrivé (welcoming after travel)

Bon voyage (have a safe/good trip)

Bonjour (hello)

Bon courage (hang in there)

Bon chance (good luck)

Bonne journée (have a good day)

Bon après-midi (have a good afternoon)

Bonne nuit (good night)

Bonsoir (good evening)

Bonne soirée (have a good evening)

There are others too.  I used to think it was a bit excessive.  It seemed like every time I did something, someone was wishing a 'Bon' this and a "Bonne" that, however now I catch myself wishing I could use them in English.  They're so short and convenient and when I try to use the English equivalent it just doesn't seem to translate or fit the situation as well.  Funny how that happens.  I guess it's a sign that I'm becoming more and more accustomed to speaking mostly in French.

French Kissing

The French kiss a lot... like you see in the movies, 2 kisses, one on each cheek.  They take this very seriously.  It doesn't matter if there are 20 people at a table, a new person enters and circles the table doing the cheek kiss to every single person at the table.  Women to women, women to men, men to women, kids and adults and occasionally men to men (although I'm told that is reserved for close friends and not acquaintances.)  It all seems a little ridiculous and time consuming, but it's what they do.

I have become accustomed to this as each time I get together with the ladies, one must kiss everyone.  So I've had some practise.  Joe on the other hand still struggles.  He finds it uncomfortable and awkward and it rarely goes smoothly.  I wish I could describe the look on his face when someone makes 'the approach' as it almost makes me laugh aloud every time.  The other day we ran into Joe's boss and his family at the beach and of course, kisses all around.  The boss' wife came to greet us and when she approached Joe he hesitated and never actually cheek-touched.  This resulted in in confusion and a small awkward moment following the act.  As we continued our walk down the beach, Joe asked if we could maybe practice at home sometime so that he could at least get a grasp on the act.

From what I gather out of my own personal experiences here is that one must follow a certain etiquette when doing the French kisses.  First of all, it does not matter if you have never previously met the person.  If you are being introduced on a social level, you will be required to kiss; There is no 3rd date rule here.  It seems customary that the men greet the women first and then acknowledge each other.  It technically isn't actually a kiss as your lips don't really touch the persons cheek.  It is more of a cheek touch while making a kiss noise.  And, the most important thing to always remember, go to the left first or at the very least, follow the other person's lead and NEVER change your mind part way through as this can result in a very awkward moment!

Parlez-vous français?

Gabon is a French speaking country (I guess that is what happens when you are colonized by France.)  Most people do not speak English and by that, I mean they don't know a single word in English.  Sometimes they'll tell you they do or even reply with a "I speak small-small English," but small-small is practically nothing.  When I had to get blood taken here I asked the nurse if she spoke English and she replied yes.  I proceeded to tell her that sometimes I faint after I give blood (yes, I know I'm a wimp) and she nodded along.  Well let me tell you, she certainly didn't understand me when I was beginning to black out and asking for water and something cold for my neck (I'm a pro at this) as she is wondering why I'm telling her my neck is cold.

I took a lot of French in school.  I followed it all the way through high school and continued in University where I know that my knowledge of the language was at it's peak.  I took my last French class in the second semester of my third year and resumed using the language after I was hired as a French as a Second Language teacher.  After 3 years of teaching ER verbs in the present tense, the alphabet, numbers, and various units on random vocabulary, I needed a break and when I moved to Grande Prairie, French dropped completely off my radar for the next 2 years.

When we learnt that we were coming here I thought it would be a great opportunity to return to the language.  Apparently, my hiatus from the language in Grande Prairie and 3 years of teaching ABC's before that had a terrible effect on my language retention.  When we first arrived I felt like I knew nothing at all.  I was stumbling over the simplest of things and struggling to find words that I had once known.  Silly me never even brought a French-English dictionary and without access to the internet for a few months, it made it really difficult.  Even now, 4 months later, I am still struggling with different verb tenses and remembering which are used with avoir and which with être.  I even find myself wishing I had packed all of my old French notebooks just to give myself a little refresher course.

At the beginning, we had Cardin at our disposal for most things and although his English wasn't great, we could often get across what we needed to him and he'd do all the talking.  Both Joe and I, moreso me, pretended we knew nearly no French.  As time went on, I got a little more confident and as Cardin began working more and more for other people, I was left to my own devices.  Sometimes I surprise myself and the language just flows out of me while other times I'm not so eloquent.  Joe keeps telling me he is going to resume his studies (Rosetta Stone) but he hasn't yet.  He does understand some of the conversations but he often relies on me to speak or translate.

There are times where we both just wish we were French as it would be so much easier like when you are really angry at someone for not doing what they're supposed to, or when there's a problem and you need to phone someone because understanding French over the phone is a whole different story, and especially, when someone is trying to bullshit you and you know they are but just don't have the words to argue about it.  It's coming back, slowly but surely and my confidence increases everyday but I won't lie, I am so looking forward to returning to Canada for a couple of weeks just so I can give my brain a break from perpetual translation.